Aliens #2

Dark Horse's Aliens #2 (2009) opens with a gut-punch of a cover by Zach Howard: a Xenomorph looms in close, terrifying profile — claws splayed wide, inner jaw bared, and a curling tail arching overhead — as it bears down on a helpless, slumped human figure pinned below it. The eerie green backlighting radiating outward gives the creature an almost ceremonial menace, making it feel less like a predator on the hunt and more like something presiding. With John Arcudi writing and Howard on interior art alongside Mark Irwin, this series was delivering some of the sharpest Alien storytelling Dark Horse had to offer in 2009.